VEGETATIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PHENOLOGY OF TRUE  CINNAMON (Cinnamomum verum J. PRESL) IN RELATION TO  PEELABILITY VARIATIONS

Cinnamon trade provides a sizeable contribution to Sri Lanka’s economy. Seasonal variations in the peelablity of cinnamon interrupts the continuous harvesting of cinnamon  throughout the year. According to the current understanding of cinnamon growers and harvesters, it is closely linked with phenological variations. However, vegetative and  reproductive phenology of cinnamon in relation to peelability variations has not been studied to a greater extent hence this study aimed to fill that gap. A Questionnaire survey was conducted to receive the perception of cinnamon growers and harvesters on variations in the peelability as well as phenology and their possible (as experienced by) linkages. Out of 50 respondents, 86% stated that it takes about three years for newly cultivated plants to reach  the harvesting stage. From the same respondents 67% stated that there is no particular season for leaf flushing in Cinnamon plants and it occurred whenever rain commences after a dry period. All (100%) respondents mentioned that peeling of cinnamon is difficult during the leaf flushing, flowering and fruiting, however it gets better with the maturity of leaves/fruits. However, the results of this study indicated that the leaf emergence of Cinnamomum verum in Sri Lanka displayed a mixed-multimodal pattern and assume that it takes place in flushes controlled by two factors, the seasonality and the rainfall after a dry period. The seasonal flushing happened from February to May. The leaf longevity of C. verum was longer than 15 months. The leaf fall was not continuous and limited from March to July with a peak in March. The flowering took place in a specific period of the year (October and November),  however only 18.6±5.6% of flower buds matured to flowers where 94.1±5.5% of which developed into fruits. Fruit production peaked at the end of October, showing a unimodal  response. September to March could be considered as the reproductive phase. The peelability of all the common accessions was significantly lower during leaf flushing, flowering and  setting of fruits pheno phases. Peelability and bark thickness of “Sri Wijaya” and “Sri Gemunu” (i.e. two selected accessions with better performance) showed no variations between its own pheno-phases. Nevertheless, significant inter-varietal variation could be observed. Peelability and bark thickness are independent of the Agro ecological zone. This study reveals that efficient harvesting of common accessions of cinnamon is highly dependent on the peelability which is affected by vegetative and reproductive phenology;  and the fact that the variations in the cambial activity which is controlled by source-sink relationships in assimilates could be the possible reason. However, the two selected  accessions can be used eliminate this problem in the cinnamon industry. 

Key Words: Selected accessions, Cinnamon, Harvesting, Peelability, Pheno-phases